Gomersall pays out on refs

FORMER Test and Origin referee Barry Gomersall says rugby league's men in the middle have gone soft. The outspoken North Queensland whistleblower believes the video referee has far too much influence, making referees afraid to do their jobs properly, and contributing to recent problems.

Gomersall - himself often a target of criticism, especially from NSW fans - believes the answer lies in handing more control back to the referee.

He also reckons the referees have only themselves to blame for the way they've been pressured by players on the field. Referees have been under the spotlight for more than a week following several mistakes which upset coaches, players and fans. The situation reached a new low on Sunday when referee Tony Archer and his touch judges were subjected to abuse and pelted with plastic cups after Souths lost to Newcastle at Aussie Stadium. That caused Souths chief executive Shane Richardson to warn that the game would lose it's referees unless they were shown more respect, on and off the field.

"It never got as bad as having stuff thrown at me, that would be a bit unnerving, and there's absolutely no need for it," said Gomersall, who refereed nine Origins and six Tests. "What we need to do is take a few steps backwards, get rid of those video referees who even with the aid of replays, which tend to distort things, still get things wrong."

Gomersall said referees should take stronger action against players attempting to pressure them and talking disrespectfully to them on the field. "What's has happened to the sin bin?," he said.

"What's happened to referees controlling the game, and why are they calling players by their first names?" ? AAP